Kwak Gyeong-taek (곽경택)

No Wave, just a Korean breeze in Poland

2008/04/28 | Source | Permalink |

The Korean Wave has been spreading Korean pop culture across Asia and beyond for more than a decade, although it has barely reached Poland, in the centre of Europe. It is sad to admit, but Korean culture (traditional as well as the "new wave") does not exist in Polish minds as a distinctive identity. It is often mixed in with Chinese and Japanese cultures, which are more defined in Poland yet still often confused with each other.

Still, it is trendy nowadays in Poland to go to an East Asian restaurant, buy Chinese souvenirs, own Japanese-style furniture, follow feng-shui rules, watch an Asian movie or send kids to taekwondo or karate classes.

Although Polish knowledge of Korean culture is minimal, the present article aims to show that there is a gentle Korean wind that is blowing into Poland faster than the mainstream Wave.

There is, however, still no trace of: (1) the Korean entertainment industry invading the Polish media market; (2) any Polish fans adopting the lifestyles o...| More

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[THE HIGH TIDE OF THE KOREAN WAVE(25)] Hallyu: the Koreanization of world culture

2008/03/21 | Source | Permalink |

In the last few years, Korean films, TV dramas and pop music have become immensely popular abroad, a phenomenon known as the Korean Wave. This is the 25th in a series of essays by a select group of scholars and journalists looking at the spread of Korean pop culture in Southeast Asian countries and beyond. - Ed.

"Hallyu", or the Korean Wave, marks the long overdue re-emergence of Korean culture into the global arena. Korean culture's newfound international vogue situates South Korean cinema, TV melodramas, K-pop, and computer games as active participants in the transformation of world culture.

These "domestic" electronic audio-visual cultural creations are no longer limited to just the Korean peninsula and the global Korean diaspora despite that they are produced in the Korean language - a language that is not one of the globalized imperial languages such as English, French, Spanish, Japanese, and Chinese.

Despite this linguistic barrier, hallyu is now a recognized agent of gl...| More

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"Fate", When Pretty Boys Go Bad

2008/03/20 | Source | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

In the star-studded gangster film "Fate", friends become foes and "pretty" actors get rough. Actor-turned-director Kim Hae-gon casts hallyu TV stars Kwon Sang-woo ("Stairway to Heaven") and Song Seung-heon ("Autumn in my Heart") and other familiar faces to play unfamiliar roles.

"Fate" is a quintessential commercial flick that feeds on star power, provocative action and melodrama. While weak storytelling and exhausting running time wane the fun, the actors' engaging performances fill in the missing links.

In the dark criminal world of Seoul, U-min (Song), Cheol-jung (Kwon), Do-wan (Kim In-kwon) and Yeong-hwan (Ji Seong) are close friends in a gang. One day, with the help of an older member Gang-seop (Ahn Nae-seong), U-min, Cheol-jung and Do-wan attack the gang's casino so they can start new lives. But their plan goes awry when Cheol-jung betrays them, and U-min goes to prison. He becomes the scapegoat to save his friends' lives.

After serving...| More

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Soppy love story among Busan gangs

2007/12/31 | Source | Permalink |

I confess I would have cried a river if I'd seen "Sarang ('A Love')" when I was fifteen. That was how old I was when I saw "The Bodyguard" starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. I embarrassed my sister by shedding too many tears at the theater. When Houston ― I don't even remember her character's name ― stopped her private jet, ran out of the plane and kissed Costner goodbye, I wanted so badly to experience that kind of unattainable passion.
Now I am old enough to know both the laughter and tears of love, and that's no longer what I want to see on screen.
'A Love', released earlier this month on DVD, falls into the category of juvenile romance. To watch it, I only had to use a third of my brain.
But you might be interested in the movie if you remember the director, Kwak Gyeong-taek, who shot the 2001 box-office hit "Chingoo ('Friend')".
"Friend", about school buddies-turned-enemies in the ganglands of the port city of Busan, was the first Korean film to sell 7 mill...| More

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"Stop, Jeon Do-yeon!" the male actors are coming back to screen in 2008

2007/12/26 | Source | Permalink |

There had been true 'Woman's power' in Korean cinema this year. The 'Cannes Lady', Jeon Do-yeon, who is sweeping through all year-end film awards, is the 2007's queens of the Queen without any further questions. From "200 pounds beauty"'s ' Cinderella ' Kim Ah-joong; 'Shadows in the Palace"'s heroin Park Jin-hee and the returned world star Kim Yoon-jin in "Seven days"; Kim Hye-soo, who never stops being one character in films such as "The War of Flower", "A Good Day to Have an Affair", "Shim's Family" and "Eleventh Mom"; Kim Tae-hee in "Venus and Mars", who tries to take off her angelic image built from various commercial films; to the newbie Han Ye-seul with her debut film, "Miss Gold Digger". Countless beautiful female actors made their own characteristic appeals and produced good results in both local and international arena.

On upcoming New Year, the top male actors are returning to screen, already heating up the atmosphere. First of all, the two most popular Hallyu stars, Song...| More

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